CLICK HERE to read original article, written by Valley News Staff Writer Greg Fennell
LEBANON N.H. — The Lebanon High girls basketball coaching job is staying in the family.
The school this week confirmed former Raider guard Emily Kehoe as coach. The 2013 Lebanon and 2017 St. Joseph's (Maine) College graduate takes over for her father Tim, who stepped down after the conclusion of the coronavirus-shortened postseason.
In a Wednesday phone interview, Emily Kehoe said she wasn't certain at first about pursuing the job. She became more confident as she realized how much it would help the Raiders — given the absence of summer basketball due to the pandemic — to have a new coach who already knows the players and the system.
"The girls deserve someone that understands them," she said. "I love basketball. I think I have a pretty good understanding of coaching and abilities, like my dad, to help support that. The big reason is I really care about the kids."
Kehoe's understanding of basketball comes from having played it herself for years.
She spent her four Lebanon High seasons competing for her father, making three NHIAA Division II state championship games and winning the last as a senior in 2013. Her final Lebanon campaign was by far her best, with more than half of her 783 career points scored and a 16.2 points-per-game average that ultimately produced a chance to continue basketball at the college level.
At St. Joseph's, Kehoe started at guard in 40 of her 102 career games, including all 26 of her sophomore season. She amassed nearly 500 points and won three conference championships with the Monks, calling the experience memorable.
"I had great teammates who were great players and had a really great basketball experience, in high school and college," she said. "I couldn't ask for better people to spend time with."
She is a rarity in Upper Valley high school basketball, the woman coaching a girls roster, with just Hartford's Heidi Bushway and Stevens' Ivy Condon as peers among the region's dozen teams.
Kehoe, who assisted her dad at Lebanon the past three years, learned that female athletes want the same thing any athlete wants.
"Coaching females is, like any athlete, they want to be pushed to be their best," the 25-year-old high school health teacher said. "They want to work hard; they want to reach goals, and I don't always think they have that same value and respect. As a female coach who played in this community and watched these girls for a couple of years, it's a great opportunity for me to know they can go past the limits that they think they have."
Tim Kehoe spent 29 years on the Lebanon sideline, winning 545 games and six outright or shared NHIAA championships. Last winter's Raiders went 20-4 and were headed to the Division II title game when the pandemic cut the campaign short and resulted in a co-championship with Rochester's Spaulding High.
The elder Kehoe said he'll be a sounding board when asked, but he'll do his best to remain at a distance while his daughter takes over the program.
"I'll stay away; it's only fair for her," he said. "I'll watch game film and I'll root from afar. She's been a big part of who they are. They need to listen to her and not have me anywhere near that. ... I'll be listening on the radio at home and texting as soon as the game is over."
